Phantoms Weekly
2 Road Games then Home on Sunday
March 11, 2026
Allentown, PA – The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (24-26-6) have just 16 games remaining in the regular season as they jockey for playoff positioning in the tight Atlantic Division race. The Phantoms head to the red-hot Syracuse Crunch on Friday night before a home-and-home against the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins including a visit to northeast Pennsylvania on Saturday evening followed by an Allentown rematch on Sunday afternoon. Lehigh Valley’s Magic Number to clinch a spot in the Calder Cup Playoffs is 31 points.
Fans can browse rosters and Media Materials for upcoming games here: https://www.phantomshockey.com/media/media-materials/
LAST WEEK
Tuesday, March 3 – Phantoms 1 at Utica Comets 4
Friday, March 6 – Charlotte Checkers 5 at Phantoms 3
Saturday, March 7 – Charlotte Checkers 5 at Phantoms 4 (OT)
Sunday, March 8 – Phantoms 4 at Bridgeport Islanders 5
THE WEEK AHEAD
Friday, March 13 (7:05) – Phantoms at Syracuse Crunch
Saturday, March 14 (6:05) – Phantoms at W-B/Scranton Penguins
Sunday, March 15 (3:05) – W-B/Scranton Penguins at Phantoms
WEEKLY RECAP
Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Phantoms 1 at Utica Comets 4
A scoreless defensive duel for 39 minutes turned with a momentum-changing goal at the end of the second period for the Utica Comets to spark a 4-1 decision on a Tuesday night in central New York. Oscar Eklind (5th) broke through for the Phantoms with 6:50 left to get the Phantoms on the board but Lehigh Valley had its streak of four or more goals in a game snapped at five. Utica won its third straight on the strength of goals by Xavier Parent (14th), Nathan Legard (8th), Mike Hardman (7th) and an empty netter for Brian Halonen (16th) to finish it off.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Charlotte Checkers 5 at Phantoms 3
Oscar Eklind extended his goal streak to a career-best four games, but Charlotte used a three-unanswered goal surge across the second and third periods to skate away with a 5–3 victory on Friday night at PPL Center. Cooper Marody (8th), Eklind (6th) and Jacob Gaucher (12th) tallied for Lehigh Valley while the Phantoms outshot Charlotte 36–21, but the visitors converted key chances. Marody posted a three-point game with one goal and two assists. Nolan Foote (14th) led the way for Charlotte with a goal and an assist while Kirill Gerasimyuk thrived in a 33-save performance.
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Charlotte Checkers 5 – Phantoms 4 (OT)
Trailing 4-0 in the first period, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms put together a frenetic and furious rally to earn a valuable overtime standings point but the Charlotte Checkers ended up taking a 5-4 win at PPL Center on Saturday night. The Phantoms stuck with it after falling behind early for the electrifying comeback. David Jiricek made his Phantoms’ debut a memorable one with his tying blast on the power play with just 4:20 left in the third period to bring the crowd to a deafening roar. Adam Ginning (2nd), Jacob Gaucher (13th) and Anthony Richard (16th) also scored in the crazed comeback effort. Aleksei Kolosov backstopped a perfect relief effort through regulation. Charlotte raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first including a goal on the first shot of the game by Sandis Vilmanis (9th, 10th) who would also conclude the scoring with the overtime winner for the Checkers.
Sunday, March 8, 2026
Phantoms 4 at Bridgeport Islanders 5
Jacob Gaucher (14th, 15th) knocked home two more to extend his goal streak to three games but Liam Foudy (20th, 21st) paced the Bridgeport Islanders’ attack who held off a late rally for a 5-4 decision on Sunday afternoon. Lehigh Valley trailed 5-3 when the Phantoms pulled Carson Bjarnason with 4:10 remaining. After that it was chance after glorious chance for the Orange and Black but somehow Henrik Tikkanen hung in there to make his best stops of the day and preserve the win. Boris Katchouk scored his first with Lehigh Valley with just 1:06 left to make it a one-goal game. Zayde Wisdom (10th) also scored for the Phantoms who simply ran out of time in their rallying efforts.
BUMP’S SPECIAL NIGHT – Alex Bump became the third Lehigh Valley Phantoms player to take his pregame Rookie Lap with the Philadelphia Flyers this season. And he also scored in his first career NHL game as well as on his first career NHL shot while the Philadelphia Flyers rallied for a 4-3 shootout win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Bump is the third Lehigh Valley player to score in his Flyers’ debut joining Morgan Frost and Hayden Hodgson. He also becomes just the seventh in Phantoms’ franchise history to accomplish the unique feat.
Phantoms Players to Score in NHL Debut with the Flyers
Alex Bump 3/7/2026
Hayden Hodgson 3/24/2022
Morgan Frost 11/19/2019
Jason Akeson 4/27/2013
Harry Zolnierczyk 10/18/2011
David Laliberte 10/31/2009
Mike Richard 10/5/2005
JUMPIN’ JIRICEK – The Philadelphia Flyers acquired defenseman David Jiricek from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for forward Bobby Brink. And the big blueliner made his Phantoms’ debut a memorable one on Saturday night with a tying power-play goal with just 4:20 left against Charlotte.
Jiricek, 22, was originally selected by Columbus in the first round (6th overall) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He has appeared in 84 NHL games with the Blue Jackets (2022–25) and Wild (2024–26), recording two goals and 11 assists for 13 points. He has also spent parts of four seasons in the AHL with the Cleveland Monsters (2022–25) and Iowa Wild (2024–26), where he has totaled 17 goals and 60 assists for 77 points in 139 games.
POWELL PARTICULARS – The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Noah Powell to a three-year entry-level contract beginning with the 2026-27 season. Powell will join Lehigh Valley Phantoms for the remainder of the 2025-26 season on a Professional Try Out (PTO).
Powell, 21, is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound forward who recorded seven goals and five assists for 12 points in 34 games this season as a freshman with the Arizona State Sun Devils. He was chosen in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The Northbrook, Illinois product has participated in Flyers Development Camp in each of the last two years.
EDWARD AND HARRISION JOIN VIA TRADE – The Philadelphia Flyers have received defenseman Jackson Edward and forward Brett Harrison from the Boston Bruins in exchange for forwards Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo. Edward and Harrison now join the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Edward, 22, is a 6’2″ defenseman from Newmarket, Ontario who has played in nine games with the Providence Bruins this season recording zero points. He has also played in 21 games with the Maine Mariners of the ECHL notching seven assists. In his two-year pro career, the London Knights’ product has played in 40 games with Providence scoring 1-6-7 and also 28 games with Maine scoring 1-8-9. Edward won an OHL Championship in 2023-24 with London where he was teammates with Denver Barkey, Oliver Bonk and Sawyer Boulton.
Harrison, 22, is a lefty-shooting center from London, Ontario who has scored 8-9-17 with Providence this season in 40 games played. He has played in 140 career AHL games with Providence over three seasons scoring 19-29-48. Harrison was a third-round selection of the Bruins out of the Oshawa Generals and Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.
TRANSACTIONS –
3/6/26 Add David Jiříček (D) – Acquired trade from MIN, loaned to LV
3/6/26 Del Massimo Rizzo (D) – Traded PHI to BOS
3/6/26 Del Alexis Gendron (F) – Traded PHI to BOS
3/6/26 Add Brett Harrison (D) – Acquired trade from BOS, loaned to LV
3/6/26 Add Jackson Edward (F) – Acquired trade from BOS, loaned to LV
3/7/26 Del Alex Bump (F) – Recalled to PHI
3/11/26 Add Noah Powell (F) – Signs with Flyers. Joins LV on PTO
UPCOMING –
Friday, March 13, 2026
War Memorial at Oncenter
Phantoms at Syracuse Crunch
Syracuse (35-17-4) is thriving with a five-game win streak while going 12-1 in its last 13 games. The Crunch have passed Laval for the best points percentage in the North Division but Laval is still ahead by three points while the Crunch have three games in hand. Former Flyer Jakob Pelletier (22-39-61) leads the AHL in scoring while Brandon Halverson (21-6-3, 2.16, .913) was AHL Goaltender of the Month for February going 6-0-0, 1.67, .934. And now the Crunch have added former Springfield captain Matthew Peca (8-26-34) who returns to Syracuse in a trade for Wyatt Newpower. The 32-year-old veteran played three seasons with Syracuse at the beginning of his career and has 530 games and 391 points under his belt at the AHL level. Former Phantom Brendan Furry (14-14-28) is having an especially strong season while defenseman Ethan Samson (2-9-11) has also taken well to his new environs since departing Lehigh Valley via trade in December. University of Michigan sniper Dylan Duke (29-20-49) has three goals in the season series which Syracuse leads 3-0.
Saturday, March 14, 2026 (6:05) p.m.
Mohegan Arena, Wilkes-Barre, PA
and
Sunday, March 15, 2026 (3:05 p.m.)
PPL Center, Allentown, PA
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins vs. Phantoms
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (36-14-7) readies for a pair of rivalry showdowns in a home-and-home weekend set against the Phantoms. The Penguins continue to persevere through various roster turmoil and transactions and are still a very strong second place in the Atlantic Division with an eight-point margin ahead of Charlotte despite recent setbacks in three straight. Tristan Broz (14-20-34) leads the offense although the second-year pro has also been dinged up with injury. Matt Dumba (6-14-20) had a hat trick against the Phantoms on February 6 in a wild 6-5 victory at PPL Center. The former longtime Minnesota Wild brings 748 games of NHL experience to the roster of the Baby Pens. Rafaël Harvey-Pinard (14-11-25) has six goals against the Phantoms this season. Ville Koivunen and Avery Hayes are a couple leading scorers currently up with Pittsburgh. But rookie arrivals Tanner Howe (5-3-8 in 12 games) and Melvin Fernstrom (2-4-6 in 8 games) have been very good. Sergei Murashov (20-6-3, 2.15, .922) is one of the best in the AHL and is 3-0-0, 1.33, .958 against Lehigh Valley. The Penguins lead the season series 6-1. The two teams have five games remaining against each other and this weekend marks Games 8 and 9 of the rivalry series
Phantoms Scoring Leaders
Lane Pederson 18-20-38
Anthony Richard 16-20-36
Christian Kyrou 8-24-32
Jacob Gaucher 15-14-29
x – Alex Bump 11-15-26
Cooper Marody 8-17-25
Atlantic Division Standings:
x – 1. Providence 43-11-1 = 87
2. W-B/Scranton 36-14-7 = 79
3. Charlotte 33-18-5 = 69
4. Hershey 26-23-8 = 60
5. Bridgeport 24-25-8 = 56
5. Lehigh Valley 24-26-6 = 54
7. Springfield 22-27-7 = 51
8. Hartford 22-27-6 = 50
LOOKING AHEAD – The Phantoms’ road trip continues this Friday and Saturday at Syracuse and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The Phantoms return to PPL Center for a pair of home games on Sunday, March 15 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Wednesday, March 18 against the first-placce Providence Bruins.
Syracuse Crunch
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
Charlotte Checkers
